RWBY The Unsung
by Rewdabaker
Summary: Atertan thought he was done trying to be a hero, after walking away from the huntsmen he was content with being a simple gun for hire and odd jobber. But when an old friend asks a favor he comes close to returning to his old life. The two veteran huntsmen choose to meet at an inn west of Minstrel to exchange information unaware that the night will prove to be much more eventful.


Chapter 1

 _A Bird and a Buck Walk into a Bar_

A broken moon scattered its rays over a small quarry, blanketing it in monochromatic light. The air was so calm that the sound of a pair of boots grinding on the gravel sounded more akin to firecrackers. The owner of the boots shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to cover more of his neck with the old field jacket. He had considered flipping up the collar but decided to keep his hands in his pockets. He needed them warm and loose. The quarry was empty of people just as the contract had said. The only things insight other than the bordering trees and laughable security fence was a single excavator, a foreman's shed and office, and various canisters and cargo crates; some of which were open and exposing the valuable materials that were responsible for this mine. A few green glowing crystals peeked out of their boxes evidence of the haste in which the miners left.

The thought of such panic pulled Atertan's greedy gaze from the crystals back to his surroundings. Between the brightness of the moon and his Faunus sight it had might as well been midday. Faunus a race of people gifted or cursed, depending on ones' view, with physical animal traits. The singular trait varied from a tail, an extra set of ears, or horns, but all Faunus shared the gift of night vision. A gift to which Atertan now used to peer deep into the black openings of two mine entrances bored deep into a rocky hillside facing the direction he had entered from.

He pulled his hands out of the front pockets of his jacket and flexed his hands, "Come on, let's get this over with already," he said into the night.

In reply he heard a long howl that drew his attention to the top of the hill. Silhouetted by the broken moon a large humanoid like wolf bayed up into the sky. The black fur, oversized limbs, and the half skull head marked the creature for its true nature. It was a Grimm, a soulless creature drawn by feelings of negativity with the singular instinct to destroy. The creature, more specifically termed as a Beowulf, turned its glowing red eye's down at the lone man in the quarry before howling again.

"Well… thought there'd be more of you," Atertan commented just before the first Beowulf led six others that had been hiding beyond the crest charging down the hill, "Thank goodness, I hate being wrong."

His hand dropped to his right thigh. He pulled a large revolver from where he had a holster strapped to his right thigh and took aim at the leader. Most people might be afraid but some like himself weren't, where Grimm were clearly the antagonists to life itself there existed their direct counterpart. Huntsmen and huntresses, people of ability and proficiency, trained to defend the world against the forces of darkness. At least that was what Atertan had been told at the academy, but that was long ago. Now it was just a job, one he was good at.

The Revolver flashed, the sound cracked like thunder into the night, and the lead Beowulf began rolling down the hill headless. It vanished in a dark mist before it reached the bottom but not before three more had joined it in a lifeless tumble. The other three reached the ground and spread out as they neared Atertan. Two more rounds left he began to be more conservative on which ones he wanted to give them to. He decided on the one that went way wide of him and jumped on the shed, it was clearly trying to setup for a flank attack and he was not going to be taken by surprise. His next shot required no thought because as he turned to shoot, one of the final two had tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction and charged at his side. The creature had gotten so close that Atertan was momentarily lost in the black smoke that followed its death. His vision obscured by the mist he couldn't be sure what the final Beowulf was doing. Experience had taught him that the creature would most certainly take the opportunity. It took him a fraction of a second to summon up his aura. A common technique used by huntsmen and huntresses as well as others to tap into one's Aura, the manifestation of a person's soul that could be used to enhance or perform a variety of abilities.

Atertan leapt backwards almost ten yards, twisted out the cylinder of his revolver, and dumped the empty casings. The smoke cleared from where he had just stood to reveal a confused Beowulf. Atertan quickly reached into an upper pocket of his jacket and pulled out a speed loader holding six more rounds with glowing red tips. He quickly slid all six into the cylinder and locked it back in revolver with a flick of his wrist. The Beowulf heard the click and turned to face him. Spotting him it gave a loud growl, Atertan smirked and squeezed the trigger. The upper half of the large creature erupted into a large fireball.

Atertan lowered his gun and looked around for a moment, "almost the easiest paycheck I ever made."

Just then he noticed the moon disappear out of the corner of his eye. His attention immediately drawn back to the hill crest a split second before he heard the world quaking roar. The massive Ursa, a shadowy mockery of a giant bear, standing on its hind legs turned its flaming red eyes down the hill. It dropped to all fours and began running towards its prey. Atertan needed only a moment to see the boney armor plates and protrusions to realize he was actually facing an Ursa Major, a more deadly foe than the common Grimm.

"One day you'll learn nothing is ever that easy," he said to himself with a sigh. He knew the five rounds that remained in his gun weren't going to be enough to stop the creature despite their special nature. He wasn't wanting to get into a melee fight with this behemoth and try to use his aura to overcome it. Still his thumb massaged the button that would transform his handgun into a weapon for a hand to hand engagement. The creature was half way down the hill as he considered his options. Watching the oncoming trial he notice something sitting between them. Against the shed stood three cylindrical tanks with a glass window running along their length. The red glow emanating from their sight glass told him exactly what they contained.

With a grin he ran towards the shed. Summoning his aura he grabbed one of the tanks spun and hurled it towards the creature that was nearing the bottom of the hill. An eighty yard shot on an airborne target with a pistol might be incredibly difficult for most but for an experienced huntsman it was trivial. The tank collided with the ursa's boney face a split second before the flaming bullet met its mark. The hillside exploded in fire, smoke, and dirt. Large rocks launched into the night sky propelled by the roaring explosion. Atertan shielded his face as the wall of dust enveloped the entire mining camp.

As the rumbling of falling rocks and boulders subsided, Atertan uncovered his face to see the moon's rays beginning to pierce the settling dust. A few coughs later and he could see most of the quarry and his handy work. The Grimm were all gone but the office a few feet away had taken a sizable boulder through its roof.

"Good thing there wasn't a property clause in the contract," he joked as he took a second glance towards the hill to make sure the ursa was truly gone. Not only was the creature gone but so was the hillside. Where he exploded the dust tank there was now a thirty foot opening in the hillside.

"Maybe I'll get paid extra," he joked to himself thinking he had just opened a new shaft ripe with Dust. With a twirl of his finger he spun the gun back into its holster and began walking out of the quarry. As he walked his hand reached to another inside pocket that held some smokes but he quickly pulled back. He wanted the reward but the job wasn't that difficult and he was trying to cut back after all. Continuing on he couldn't help but shake his head at the shabby chain link fence he passed through. It wouldn't have kept a determined toddler out let alone a hungry Grimm.

That was to be expected from a wildcat operation like this. Dust was a valuable commodity, one that allowed a person to manipulate the very elements of nature. And everyone was trying to cash in on this new resource. There was just one problem, nobody touched the stuff without dealing with the Schnee Dust Company. The company located on the northern continent of Solitas where the largest deposits of Dust could be found, they had a monopoly on the stuff. Anybody that tried to get into the dust business was either bought out, bankrupt, or fell victim to various degrees of misfortune. Still you would have those with strong backs and weak minds wanting to make quick cash and would find themselves unofficially contracted by the company to work their own mines. Atertan felt a slight tinge of guilt taking a black market contract originating from the Schnee corporation knowing he was going to make double the monthly wage of one of the workers which was still a fraction of what the company would make off this mine in a day. He shrugged it off, way he saw it, you either play by the big kid's rules or your bullied into the corner. Besides here in the kingdom of Mistral, there was plenty of big players to take over the playground if Schnee left.

Outside the quarry on the dirt road was propped a shabby bike. It wasn't much to look at but Atertan had learned long ago not to get attached to things. When he landed on Anima, the first salesman he saw all he requested was cheap and reliable. After a few more kicks than was required when he first bought it, the bike finally growled to life. It was a good thing he had Faunus sight because the headlight had stopped working as well. He sped down the road towards the nearest town about fifteen miles away.

Fog had begun to settle in from the cooling night when Atertan rolled into the village. His arms were tired from the constant weaving of the road winding through the swamps of western Mistral. He pulled out his scroll, a small handheld holographic communication device, and contacted the handler. It didn't take long for him to track down the nervous shmuck that had been "asked" to hold onto the money for the job. He hefted the bag full of stamped coins with satisfaction then opened the top and flipped one of the coins to the young man.

"Next time a stranger asks you for a favor that doesn't look like they need help maybe tell them you're busy." the wide-eyed fellow vigorously nodded and slammed his door shut. Atertan closely examine one of the silver coins again to make certain they were legit or as legitimate as an underworld currency could be. Most the world used Lien, plastic cards with magnetic strips that were electronically tracked. The criminal underground of Mistral used other means to funnel money without leaving as much of a paper trail. The coins were bonds for an obscure shipping company dealing with alternate resources, or as many in the know referred to them as bullcrap stamps. But much of Mistral did business with various forms of them as much out of necessity as fear.

Atertan put the pouch of money in the pocket of his jacket and with his scroll again he sent a message to an old friend, telling the recipient to meet him at the village's inn. That proved to be much easier to find. Following the noise of loud drunks and clamor of various merriment he soon stood before the large two storied building. It was decently constructed, stone walls, shingled roof, well lit, and had a very helpful 'Inn' sign to identify it. The inside was much simpler. The main floor sunk a couple feet lower than the entrance. The room was lit by a single candle chandelier, a fire place inset into one of the adjacent walls, and a number of other candles were placed all around the room. The furniture was all wood and plainly made. Filling half of the seats and tables were all manner of shady looking characters. Dirty and rough looking fellows that could very well have been some of the poor sods from the mine. A few thugs that might be simply watching for an easy target to mug later. There were also a number of grizzled huntsman much like himself out here trying earn a living off the only skills they had. The only things in the room that seemed as though any care was given to them was the bar in the back and the innkeeper.

As Atertan stepped down he couldn't help but drink in the view of this green-eyed, brunette beauty. As she came towards him with an empty tray and towel tucked under one arm, Atertan began to sift through his archive of pickup lines.

"Hello, there! How can I help you?" she said with a big grin.

"Perhaps we can help each other? Names Atertan and one night with me you won't want anyone other than."

Just than the beauty before him shifted into a face of icy threat that could cower a rabid beast.

"Suppose I could go sit myself at the bar and avoid talking to you the rest of the night," he grimaced and glanced over her shoulder. Glaring she stiffly nodded her head towards the bar before walking away. Atertan shook his head. It had been a long time since he had felt embarrassed but it was times like this when he got a hint of what that felt like. He walked to the other side of the room avoiding the more animated customers and dropped onto one of the stools. Other than the lanky senior working the other side of the counter the spot was mostly empty.

"What will it be?" the bartender growled.

"Something that reminds me of my ex."

"Cold, dark, and bitter?"

"You know her too?"

The old man smirked, "coming right up." As the bartender walked away to fetch a mug, Atertan tiredly bent over the counter and rubbed his scalp. He was careful not to part the thick light brown hair away from two small boney stumps. As a child they had once been antlers but now they were just scarred reminders of what people are capable of in the most desperate of times. For a long time he felt resentful about their loss but now he couldn't help but appreciate the convenience of appearing more human. It was no secret that life as a human was simpler. Atertan found that as a faunus if you weren't being discriminated or harassed by fauna-phobic humans than you were being constantly preached to or pressured by White Fang sympathizers. Atertan would rather just be ignored.

A moment later the bartender set a large frothy mug in front of him and said, "that will be six lien."

"Must be some good stuff," Atertan grumbled before dropping his pouch of earnings on the counter causing a few coins to fall out of the top.

The bartender eyed the money warily to which Atertan reassured, "don't worry, I plan on being generous not trouble." As he spoke he could tell a few of the tables behind him got a little quieter. "A round for everyone on me," he added.

As the bartender got some drinks and moved around the counter to serve them out, Atertan spun on his stool to see the other customers. As he turned he put his fist in his right side to appear relaxed but to also cause his jacket to reveal the gun on his thigh for the room to see. He smiled and tipped his head at the nearest table who had just received their drinks. The rough men accepted the drinks and looked at him for a moment before nodding their heads in understanding.

Just then movement at the entrance grabbed his attention. An all too familiar figure stepped through the doorway his posture suggesting exhaustion but also a challenging cockiness. Qrow Branwen dressed in his usual long-tailed gray dress shirt and black slacks stood lean and tall at the entrance. He scanned the room with red colored eyes shadowed by his black but graying hair. Finely Atertan saw a grin cross the old huntsman's face as he caught sight of an inviting spectacle.

"I saw her first you old bird," Atertan grumbled to himself and began waving to catch Qrow's attention.

Qrow quickly turned his head his eye's narrowing a bit and his expression taking on a more serious note. Atertan turned back round to his drink and called to the bartender, "whiskey on the rocks for my friend." The bartender nodded and reached up to a shelf behind him. "He's not that good of a friend." The bartender mumbled something than squatted down to reach into a cabinet.

"Atertan," Qrow's gravelly voice sounded out as he walked by to take a seat beside Atertan.

"Qrow," Atertan raised his mug just as the glass of whiskey was set down in front of his old friend. Qrow grabbed it and raised it as well before they both took a drink.

"Long time no see," Atertan said thumping his empty mug onto the counter and nodding to the bartender.

"That it has," Qrow hissed, the ice jingling in his glass as he sat it down.

"Don't sound so disappointed."

"I'm not," Qrow said turning in his chair to steal another look at the inn keeper.

"Don't waste your time, she's more frigid than a Schnee port-a-potty."

"Your terrible pick-up lines have that effect," Qrow teased still watching the beautiful girl.

"I remember one of them made your sister smile."

"Only because after she knocked you through that wall you landed in a Rapier Wasp nest."

"Which wouldn't have happened otherwise, so my statement still stands."

Just then the inn keeper looked up and saw Qrow. Qrow did his usual smirk and wink and the girl looked away smiling and blushing. The bartender sat a full mug down before Atertan who contemplated dumping it on his friend's head. Then the old huntsman turned back to Atertan still smirking with a face that reminded him of good days long past. To which Atertan could only raise his mug again and say, "sky high Qrow." They both took a long draft of their drinks, Qrow setting down an empty glass.

"I'll have another," Qrow growled to the bartender.

He began reaching in his pocket when Atertan said, "don't worry about it, I have them covered." He then pointed to the bag of coins sitting in front of him.

"Huh, that reminds me. I cleared out a small dust mine earlier today full of Grimm," Qrow began. "funny thing is I just tried collecting the bounty a moment ago but somebody already claimed the reward."

"What a coincidence, because I was paid a little bit ago for clearing a dust mine of Beowolves and Ursa," Atertan challenged.

"It was Creeps and Death Stalkers when I was there."

Atertan looked Qrow over and wanted to challenge the claim. He knew Qrow was good but he didn't look like he had been in that difficult of a fight.

"Well then you either missed some or attracted more. Besides you're the reason I'm here. We can consider this reasonable payment for the information you asked for," he said patting the bag.

"That depends on if I like what I hear."

"I'm sure it's what you need to hear, doubt you'll like it though."

"All right, what did you find out?"

"Whoa whoa, we haven't seen each other in ages and you want to get straight to business? No time for old friends?"

"All right, sorry. We won't skip the pleasantries."

"Thank you."

A few quiet moments past as the two huntsmen tried to think of a way to initiate the conversation.

Finally, Atertan asked, "So how's the rest of team Stork doing?"

"Really you're going to start with that old joke?"

Back at the academy all the students were split into teams of four and given an abbreviated name comprised of the first letters of the members' names. Qrow's team was STRQ and pronounced 'Stark'.

"It's perfect, I never understood Stark. There's two birds in the friggin team, Stork just fits better."

"And team Angle is just as fitting considering their leader always had his head so far up his…"

"Hey now your just jealous because of how much cooler we were, and Angel is more on the mark than Stark," Atertan cut him off. Atertan knew his statement wasn't completely true. Growing up the two teams had a friendly rivalry but it was pretty apparent that Qrow's team were at the top of the class back then. Even still Atertan was proud of his team and would argue that they were a close second.

Qrow snorted but Atertan quickly continued the conversation before the rebuttal could be made, "Tai? He still got that teaching gig at Signal?"

"Ya." Qrow took another swig.

"He ever get out into the field anymore?"

"On occasion, a bit harder between teaching and the girls."

"Oh ya, how old are they now?"

"Yang started Beacon this year."

"Wow didn't think she was that old yet."

"Ruby's there as well."

Atertan half choked on his beer, "What… I know… she's not that old."

"She's not."

Atertan stared at him in confusion before the answer finally dawned on him, "Ozpin?"

Qrow answered by finishing his drink. Atertan wanted to express his discomfort but let the comment die as he followed his friend's example.

"So, what about your sister?" Atertan asked as the barman came back over with another round. Back in school he had a bit of a crush for the girl but had given up on her when Tai had gotten her attentions.

Qrow smirked knowing Atertan's interests with that question, "not sure, Raven and I don't talk much anymore. What I can tell you is if she didn't like you before then she would probably hate you now."

"Mores the pitty," Atertan took a drink.

"Alright, your turn. What's going on with the rest of team ANGL?" Qrow redirected the questioning leaving out the fourth member of his team, just as Atertan would do with his own team.

"Lio is working as some big head distributer for Schnee's now. Guess he's been in quite the struggle lately. Got the corporate head breathing down his neck since some of their trains have been robbed and an issue at a shipyard. Sounds like some people in Vale want to get a boat load of Dust for the five finger discount."

Atertan noticed a slight squirm in Qrow but didn't press the matter.

"As for Nym, you already know she's working for your buddy Ironwood on some RD projects. So aside from that you probably know more about how she's doing than I do," Atertan said getting tense, knowing where the conversation was probably headed.

"She's still not talking to you?"

"You blame her?"

"It wasn't your fault Atertan."

"You know how many times I try to tell myself that? I mean it makes sense, doesn't it? It wasn't by my hand, I couldn't predict what would happen but at the end of the day I was their captain. They were my responsibility and it was my call. Nym says I killed her sister and every time I look in the mirror and remember that day I have a hell of a time saying she's wrong."

There was a long moment of silence between the two as they took turns sipping from their drinks before Qrow finally reinitiated the conversation.

"What are you doing out here Atty?"

"Here it comes," Atertan said with a fake laugh.

"Your too good to be wasting yourself out here playing pest control and finding lost kittens. Oz could use someone like you."

"I tried getting into Oz's kiddy scouts club, my whole team dabbled in the 'save Remnant' territory and we know how that turned out. As you know I tried the family life as well, found out I make a better huntsman than I do a family man. I'm out here because this is where I belong."

"You're out here because you're a coward. You were struck by some bad luck and got scared. Instead of spending your gifts contributing and doing something meaningful, you're out here hiding from attachment and responsibilities so you can't get hurt again."

Atertan took a long drink, slammed his mug down with a hiss then said, "Well I can't say you're wrong but I wonder how observant you would be if we were to turn that same scrutiny onto you."

The two friends glared at each other for a moment before Atertan sighed and said, "why are we doing this? We both have old wounds, there's no reason to go picking at them. You wanted information? Well I think we can talk about that without hating each other or ourselves."

"Worth a shot," Qrow growled before taking a drink.

Atertan wasn't sure if the growl was directed towards him or Qrow's self.

"You asked me to look into who killed that girl you described… speaking of which you ready to tell me what is so important about this girl?"

"Didn't you just say a moment ago, you didn't want to be part of Oz's kid scouts?"

"Fair enough. I started my search in the general area where you said the attack took place. Not much but a few small farms. The few I spoke to hadn't seen or heard of anyone traveling through the area. Had to broaden my search to the only three villages within area. One of them had played host to your victim. The folks couldn't match her description but anyone traveling alone that far out from a major city tends to catch attention, besides her arrival was within the same time frame as the attack. The village doesn't get many visitors so the next travelers to come into town a day later also garnered notice."

"Anybody able to get a good look at them?"

Atertan took a long drink, "A better one than you got but their description won't do you any good, and I'll get to the reason why in a moment. So of everyone I questioned they were all told different destinations and origins. Looking at where the attack took place and the village it seemed reasonable to guess the general direction of travel from one major town to the next and everyone likes a roof over their head and a soft spot to lay said head. The next town in line told me the same story. A lone girl arriving and a couple days later some new faces walk in to town, and by new faces I mean a completely different set of descriptions on your attackers and their possible number. Same story with next stop."

"Disguises," Qrow said certainly as he took a drink.

"Most like, could be a semblance too. Eventually I stopped hearing reports of your girl I'm guessing that was where your attackers picked up her trail. So kept following their tracks and eventually found myself at a podunk mountain trading post southwest of Kuchinashi. Are you familiar with the name Marcus Black?"

"I may have heard it in a couple conversations. A hitman or some such."

"A hitman deals with mob snitches, people who duck out of loans, and unfaithful spouses. This guy could have bought the mountain he hid up on. He was highly skilled and highly sought, and if the drunks at the trading post could be believed he was a regular."

"And let me guess he vanished."

"Nope, he was found dead. Now he could have faked his death and joined your murderous buddies or they had a serious disagreement. Either way makes them pretty damn formidable."

"Okay, what did you find after that?"

"Nothing. After that stop the only trail left lead to the city of Kuchinashi itself. I was working with limited information on them as it was so when I got there, I had zero to go off of."

"So that's it, you dragged me out here just to tell me that they know how to play dress up and kill drunk old assassins?"

"Calm down, If I couldn't come up with anything I'd just have pulled out my scroll and messaged you 'Sorry Qrow, didn't find shit. Good luck with that'."

"Alright, sorry I misjudged you. But can we move this along I'd like to remember what you've told me," Qrow jingled a mostly empty glass for a fresh refill.

Atertan nodded then finished his own drink before getting closer to Qrow and lowered his voice.

"Okay so as I said. The trail went cold, I had zero leads. Then I get a call from an old acquaintance of mine in the White Fang."

"You have a friend in the White Fang?"

"It's a long story, I feed him enough info to keep his head clear of trouble and vice versa. We both operate in similar areas and its beneficial to have somebody able to leave a window unlocked for the other, I'll say that's figurative but it may have been literal once," Atertan suppressed a belch than shook his head to ward off distracting thoughts, "anyways, he calls me up in a bit of a panic. Says he wants out, I set him up with a friend of mine to smuggle him over to Vacuo. He claims some new players have come into town with big plans and have the local faction on edge. Members are vanishing, the usual preaching is being replaced by orders with details on a need to know basis, and their general goal seems to have shifted towards some mysterious ends."

"Who is this informant? Do you trust him?"

"Suppose there's no reason to hide his name. His name's Tukson, he was a fence for the White Fang, ran a book shop in Vale. As for whether or not I trust him, he's dead now so that seems to validate his story. Good guy, just got caught up in some stupid crap."

There was a quiet moment as Atertan's eyes got distant. Then he returned to the present and turned back to Qrow.

"Listen Qrow, despite what you told me, I've figured out that girl is still alive and her attackers have guessed it as well. They're capable, they're tied in with Vale's White Fang, and they're right under Ozpin's nose."

"Well you were right about me not liking what I was going to hear. Looks like I'm headed back to beacon early," Qrow finished his drink and stood up.

"Tonight?" Atertan noticed the unease in his friend and wanted to ask more but knew he would either be told nothing or more than he wanted.

"Unfortunately. It was good see…"

A loud scream cut off Qrow as well as all the rest of the patrons.

"It came from outside," Atertan commented as he got off his stool as well. His hand moving towards his thigh.

A fellow with what looked like an old double barrel shotgun slowly began walking towards the doors. With a shaking hand, he grabbed the knob. A loud crash came from the window beside the door as a dark form revealed itself through the glittering display of flying glass. The creature stood on two legs inverted at the knees and each ending in three long claws. Its long tail, plated and spiny back, and long narrow head filled with sharp teeth gave it a saurian appearance. The Grimm quickly turned to the man at the door momentarily frozen by fear and surprise. The creature hissed, bent its legs and lunged. The man curled up as a cloud of black smoke covered him. Across the room Atertan's revolver was leveled with a small wisp escaping the end of the barrel.

The room was quiet for a few seconds then exploded in noise and shouts as the rest of the patrons began retreating into the side rooms. Some the braver ones upended tables taking cover behind them and drawing weapons. The bartender sunk behind the counter his eyes barely peeking over the top. The inn keeper ran back towards the bar coming noticeably close to Qrow.

"Creeps you said," Atertan asked over his shoulder keeping his gun raised.

Qrow nodded his sword already in hand, "and deathstalkers, thought I had them sealed up well enough back in that mineshaft."

Atertan's eyes got big as realization set in, "uh… they must have dug out or… found another exit." He turned his head away and swore silently to himself.

"Uhuh," Qrow said, "so how did you take care of the Ursa…"

Everyone fell quiet again as a rumble began to fill the tavern. Glass ware began jingling as it shook off the shelves. The two huntsmen saw movement in the empty right window and simultaneously shouted, "get down!"

Qrow grabbed the girl and ran around the counter and wrapping her in his arms as he dove behind it. Atertan jumped over and covered the old bartender just as the wall of the entrance exploded inward. Large sections of the stone wall and roofing collapsed into the room. One section came down on top of the bar.

As the dust began settling Qrow let go of the girl and sat up into a squatting position, "the two of you will be safe hiding here, Atertan you ready to relive some glory days?"

"We counting?"

"Of course."

"Are deathstalkers still worth five?"

"It's cute you still think their worth that."

"Big talk you old bird, alright let's see what you can do."

Qrow smirked and rolled out from under the rubble. Atertan grabbed a dusty bottle off the floor uncorked it and took a swig. He immediately spat it out, drenching the unfortunate bartender.

"ugh, should have read the label first," he tossed the bottle over his shoulder, hefted his revolver and crawled out of the chaotic shelter. Standing he immediate turned towards the entrance in time to see Qrow leap over the rubble that had once been the wall of the entrance. A few people were dusting themselves off and pulling their comrades out from under the debris. Atertan began walking towards the entrance when he heard a jingle by his feet. A quick glance down and he saw the coin bag half full and a number of coins scattered about it. He looked back towards the entrance wondering after Qrow and the state of the village. He hated the idea of leaving the money there for someone else to find but his friend and others might be needing him right now. He thought about it for another second before he dropped to his hands and knees and began gathering the loose coins.

"Where the hell were you?" growled Qrow as Atertan joined him in the town square.

"There's more to being a huntsman than rushing off to kill Grimm," Atertan said running to Qrow's side as he surveyed the town. From the central square he could see down three of the main streets on out to the outermost structures. The silvery moonlight battled against the few fires sprung up from the mismatch of wooden buildings along each of the streets. Most the streets were filled with Creeps making their way towards the square or trying to break into some of the structures. In the open square a few under geared and undertrained guards swung their simple weapons weakly at the encroaching enemies.

"I'd say that too if I was five Grimm behind," Qrow smirked.

"Please, I killed two on my way here."

"Only two? I was accounting for four."

"I wasn't here so we'll say your four ahead and deduct three for possible bullshit."

"Alright but if you don't beat me by eight than you're always going to wonder."

They both scanned the surrounding area for another moment, each taking a choice shot and saving a defender from a blindside attack.

"These Creeps didn't bust in that wall," Atertan said.

"No but lets not worry about that now, first we make sure some of these guards survive the night."

"I'll relieve the south street."

"And I'll get east."

Atertan turned to his right and ran towards the point where the cobble stones of the market area narrowed between some buildings. Two men stood with shaking spears pointed at a creature ready to pounce. They hugged their weapons as a loud boom erupted between them and the creature vanished in black wisp.

"Back up your buddies across the way, I got this avenue."

The two men just nodded before nearly tripping over themselves in the effort to join larger numbers. The Grimm seemed to sense the larger threat and began moving towards him with increased purpose. Experience gave him calm as he took his time to open the cylinder of his revolver and manually replace the two spent cartridges. A quick spin and snap and he raised the gun to shoot a Creep in mid lunge. A long pull of the trigger and a couple steps and the next Grimm vanished in a cloud of dark smoke. On down the street he walked as four more creatures likewise met their end. His gun empty, a creep lunged at him. With little effort, he spun to the side easily dodging the attack all the while opening his cylinder and dumping the empty casings. Now behind the creature he pulled a full speed loader out of a pocket inside his jacket and fluidly dropped the fresh rounds into the cylinder, closed it, and fired just as the creature began to turn around. Atertan returned the speed loader to its pocket and continued down the street towards a small intersection of the main street and a side street.

The side streets were too dark to see down when Atertan took a glance at them. The initial darkness surprised him considering his faunus sight, but he quickly calmed as realization set in. Tucking his revolver under his left armpit he reached into a pocket and pulled out a hand rolled smoke and lighter. The cigarette held between his lips he struck the lighter and raised it and began to puff his smoke. The faint light danced in the small intersection barely illuminating the area around him, but to his faunus eyes it might as well have been a torch. His suspicions made clear as the light illuminated the shapes on his left and right as a dozen Creeps turned their pale skull heads to face him. He looked up into the night sky and took a long drag. He snapped the cover closed over the lighter, the small light in the crossing vanishing.

A curtain of black silence enveloped the intersection then five quick flashes and claps rang out. A short pause before six more echoed up the streets. Slowly moonlight began to once again illuminate the street. Atertan crouched down to retrieve his lighter lying in the middle of the intersection. The embers of his cigarette faded out nearby, he thought about retrieving it and relighting it but instead stepped on it as he turned to head back towards the village center. He came back to the square to see Qrow rushing from his street towards where the remaining town guards were being harassed from the far side. Atertan hurried across the square pulling some rounds from his jacket, noticing how light it was getting.

"Cleared my street, up fifteen," Qrow flashed a toothy grin.

"twelve."

Atertan slid to a stop and took aim at a creep on top of a screaming man being thrashed about, his dark red arm in the beast's mouth. At the sound of the shot, Qrow lept over two men who were keeping their assailants at spear length. Spinning his giant sword as he landed cutting two unsuspecting Grimm down. Two Creeps looked hungrily at Qrow but both died to gunshots before they could act on their appetites.

"Still behind," Qrow shot back at Atertan. Just then three shots whistled past Qrow.

"But gaining," Atertan said as six casings chimed off the cobble stones. Speed loaders empty he began putting rounds in the cylinder one at a time as he walked towards Qrow.

"Afraid to get your hands dirty? You can't have that much ammo in your pockets."

"I got enough to beat you plus I paid good money for this buzz, don't want to work it off just yet."

Qrow smirked then said, "Well looks like we're out of targets so unless we get another surprise you've lost."

"Well you've jinxed it now, we better stick close to them," Atertan nodded towards the guardsmen as they supported each other and shuffled to the center of the square.

Qrow walked with his giant blade resting on his shoulder and soon matched Atertan's pace.

"At least one Deathstalker is in the town somewhere, maybe two if this is the whole pack from the mine. Like you said before, the inn wasn't busted by the Creeps."

"I'd say lets spread out and find them but it looks like they'll be here shortly."

"What makes you so cer…" Qrow began but then saw a small group of somber people slowly marching from down one of the streets into the square. Likewise, people began to appear out of the surrounding buildings, oblivious that the fight was not yet over. They began congregating in the center of the square crying softly to one another. Atertan felt a pain of guilt but allowed the feeling to fester. The Grimm were attracted to negative feelings so if he could stink the place up even more than hopefully they could bait out the enemy sooner. A rumble began to echo in the square and quickly grew to a tremble in the ground.

"That didn't take long, you must be more moody than usual," Qrow teased.

"Heh, aren't we just a pair of grumpy old sons of bitches."

Qrow held out his large sword with one hand the blade pointing parallel with his body. The hilt suddenly shot down extending into a shaft that cracked the cobbles by his feet. A few loud clacks and grinding of gears played on the ears as the blade segmented and curled into a sinister curve. A few nearby guards looked at the giant scythe nervously.

"Don't call me old."

Atertan grinned but the expression quickly vanished as an explosion sounded from the street they had just stepped from. Three buildings down, a cloud of dust and debris erupted into the street from where a two-story building had just stood moments before. Through the settling dust a large glowing yellow teardrop began to take form. Its tip pointed sharply towards the two huntsmen, the dust cleared more showing the thick pale plated tail connected to the broader side of the stinger. Soon two massive pincers dancer their way out of the cloud until the rest of the giant scorpion filled the street. Its many red eyes glowing hungrily at the square.

Screams grabbed the men's attention to the opposite street where the small crowd of survivors were stumbling from. Beyond them a small pack of Beowulves chased after with another Deathstalker in tow. The unarmed villagers collapsed in the center and huddled against one another, the guards took the initiative and formed a protective circle around them. The Grimm were now entering the center.

"Hope you've been holding back enough because you get the big group, might be enough to pass me."

Atertan had a retort ready but Qrow launched at the lone Deathstalker before he could reply. Atertan drew up his revolver and turned his attention to the charging pack of Grimm now only a few steps from lunging at the nearest defenders. Atertan closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, trying to relax himself to better focus on the task he was about to undergo. He felt his aura and drew upon it to activate another ability at his disposal, his semblance. On top of all huntsman's gifts was another ability unique to each individual hunter, a semblance. A hunter's semblance could manifest itself into different talents. Some could move faster, others might become stronger, some could even call upon special forms of magic.

Atertan remembered the first few times he had inadvertently called upon his semblance in his youth. Once defensively when he was bullied by a group of fellow grade schoolers. The ability saved him from a beating but not because it had any direct effect on his tormenters. The after effects of using his ability left him on the ground vomiting from nausea and screaming from intense cramps. The scene terrified the bullies, causing them to flee. It wasn't until a few more episodes and five years later that a sports coach had seen it occur and was able to guide him through his new ability. The lesson still stuck with him. Atertan opened his eyes and pulled on that power.

Two Beowulves were suspended midair another was just leaving the ground. Unlike his child self he knew that they weren't frozen or anything else in the square for that matter. He also knew from many failed attempts that he wasn't moving faster either. He was simply observing faster than standard time. Through many painful failures he had learned the right amount of delay between his time dilated observation and the reaction and capability of his muscles. It was like moving through mud, if he tried to move too fast he over strained his muscles for very little gain, often resulting in overwhelming cramps upon his return to normal time. On top of the physical strain of not properly exerting himself was the added difficulty of managing how long he stayed in this state. The semblance pulled a lot of energy from his overall aura, staying in it to long could bring him down to the point of having the same strengths and weaknesses of a normal person or even less than that.

But Atertan was a professional. His hand had slowly passed over the first three and biggest threats, ending them in three trigger pulls and was now moving towards the next five running Beowulves. He began moving forward when he pulled the trigger on the third one. Despite his experience it was still a strange sensation once in his semblance. It was like being an observer to someone else's body, he had to focus to move his body but disconnect from the thought in order to prevent over exerting something that seemed delayed by almost three full seconds. He had often wondered if the only reason he was chosen to be his teams captain back at beacon was because of his semblance. He had to admit that giving himself a few extra seconds was handy when making split second decisions.

The distance halved he pulled the trigger three more times and three more fell. He didn't bother reloading, it would have taken too long. Pressing a button on his revolver he began spinning the gun's trigger guard around his finger as the gun began to change. The trigger and guard slid to the end of a now slightly extended barrel. An axe head sprung out the back of the grip and snapped into place at the bottom. The spur of the gun's hammer extended out to make a sharp spike. He spun the newly formed tomahawk on his finger and prepared himself to leave his self-induced time dilation. He wanted to conserve his remaining aura as much as he could and from careful observation knew what steps to take next upon returning to real time.

Things seemed to fast forward and he strained his focus to catch up to normal time and reflexes. He began spinning the tomahawk as he ran into the first Beowulf, he swung his weapon upward splitting the beast from sternum to crown. Continuing the rotation in his weapon he spun around the falling beast and saw the next approaching enemy. Swinging his arm with his body he released his weapon sending it through the air. The tomahawk rolled through the air before embedding its edge into the skull of the last Beowulf. Atertan didn't stop his advance, instead he met the sliding body and grabbed the handle of his weapon as he leaped over the obstacle. His feet hitting the ground he rolled and instantly returned to his semblance.

The pincer of the scorpion snapped above him as he finished his roll. Coming back to his feet he stood and aimed the upwards slash of his axe at the join where the pincer met the arm. He knew how the deathstalker would respond and turned towards the next claw. Even with his advanced perception he wouldn't be able to move his whole body out of the way of the attack so he turned his body and held the tomahawk at his side just as the pincers clamped down. The weapon acted as a brace and prevented him from being cut in half. He disengaged his semblance knowing he would need all his remaining aura to infuse his next action. Releasing his weapon, he swung his arm up and down in front of him as if he was swatting an incoming ball. His aura strengthening his spike, his hand came down and connected with the giant stinger that had come mere inches from piercing his head. The force of his strike coupled with the momentum of its own effort sent the stinger back into the top of the creature's head. The massive scorpion instantly reeled back and began spasming in its death throes. Seeing the creature curled up on its back he stepped over to his weapon and picked it up.

He walked back towards the center in time to see Qrow bring his scythe down the center of completely dismembered deathstalker. Qrow's scythe returned to its original sword form before he returned it to its place on his back. Walking away from the dissolving scorpion he joined Atertan near the center just out of ear shot of the townsfolk who were finally beginning to calm and talk to each other.

The two men turned towards the villagers a slight smile gracing their faces, the only evidence of remembered purpose boiling below the surface.

"By my count I'd say we tied," Atertan said as his fist affectionately bumped Qrow's shoulder.

"We can't end with a tie, why don't we compare aura levels?"

"That's not fair. Had I known that was going to be the kicker, there would be a few less surviving guardsmen."

"Heh ya sure. A tie then, guess that means we split that purse."

"The coin from the mine job? That's back at the tavern buried under half the collapsed roof. It's all yours if you wanna go dig it up but I'm not sticking around for these people to start looking for someone to blame."

Qrow sighed, "I suppose your right, If what you've told me tonight is true then I've gotta get back to beacon."

A momentary silence then Atertan asked, "I don't need details but is it that serious? This girl, these enemies, and whatever is going on?"

"It's pretty serious."

"Then be careful, I'm running out of friends."

"Aren't we all? This hero business, we knew what we'd give. Would we still be here if we knew what we'd lose?"

After another moment of silence Atertan turned away and began walking out of town. Over his shoulder he yelled, "Say hi to Tai for me!"

"And you stop being a damn stranger." Atertan heard Qrow growl behind him.

It had been a good night he earned another smoke. Puffing it as he walked passed the tavern he slowed down just enough to see that his bike had been thoroughly smashed by one of the Deathstalkers. He shrugged off the disappointment and was thankful he didn't splurge on the purchase. He had just reached the outskirts when his scroll began buzzing. He saw the contact and sighed.

"Ya?"

A young energetic woman's voice shouted over the small speaker, "Hey I just saw the bounty on that Schnee job's been claimed, so where's my cut?"

"I was paid in cartel coin, its gonna take a while to transfer. You know that."

"I also know how you often forget that I don't represent you for free! You want the jobs to keep rolling in, make sure your little bird is fat and happy!"

"You know I used to be married right? So if you called just to nag…"

"Hold up, I also have another job for you. Special request straight from ice castle!"

"Personal assignments from the corporation?"

"That's right, you've fulfilled enough requests from them they're interested in making you their official unofficial go-to-guy. Do this next assignment and you're a made man. No more wondering if you're gonna find work or who you're going to have to watch out for afterwards."

"Maybe I'm interested, give me some details."

"Okay its kind of a turf war. Frozen north has products going elsewhere than to mom and pop. Pop's not happy with a mining village outside Mantle and wants to know who, what, when, where, why. Okay maybe they don't care so much about the why part but they're willing to pay big bucks for the other four, especially if there are bodies attached."

"Then it's no coincidence they're requesting me."

"I told them you are from the area so it works out perfectly for them and us."

"Why did I open up to you about where I was born? I haven't been back there since I was six."

"Come on that was like fifty years ago, whatever mayhem you were involved in should have blown over by now."

"Hey! I am not that old!"

"Regardless you have some memories of the area that will back up your cover story. Besides this can set you up for life and by extension me. Come on, think of it as a trip down memory lane and at the end is a boat load of cash!"

"I take that trip often enough and lose a bit of myself each time," Atertan said under his breath before sighing, "Fine but I'm gonna need a lift, I'm short of cash and a ride."

"Great, we're corporate now so I'm sure I can swing a chauffeur into the deal. I'll get back to you with the details… wait what do you mean your short of cash?"

"Thanks Rica," Atertan said closing his scroll, "…guess I'm going home."

The inn keeper was reseating chairs in the half-collapsed tavern, more out of habit than believing the action actually helped. She had attended to the old bartender and sent him home. All the other customers had left as well leaving her to the catastrophe of her business. She dusted off the few standing tables wondering what she could do now with her livelihood now in shambles. She looked back at the bar staring at the large piece of roofing collapsed on it. She sighed, feeling selfish for whining about her building when she and so many others could have just as easily died. She turned away with new resolve towards a nearby toppled table. She righted it and saw shapes on the floor beyond. She moved around the table towards the wall. On the floor in the dust was scrawled a single word "Sorry". Above the word sat a large bag spilling over with coins.

 **Thank you for reading the first chapter of what I hope to be an ongoing miniseries set in parallel with RWBY's season three. I came across the idea for a "behind the scenes" answers to some of the questions I had during the season. I wanted to start this series sooner but life happens and didn't have the time to write for a while. As an aspiring author I thought this idea would be a good way to get back into working on my craft and I hope to continue this story, for the practice, for myself, and for whomever finds this tale enjoyable. All that said please follow and let me know what you think, constructive criticism is more than welcome =) Thanks again!**


End file.
